# It's Gandhi, Gandhi, Gandhi, Gandhi, GANDHI!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 11, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607 "2007-01-11T20:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/41 "2007-01-12T00:05:06Z")
[QUOTE=MaxTheVool] I’m a very literate college graduate, and I can never for the life of me remember whether it’s **Tolkien** or **Tolkein** ; or **Caesar** or **Ceasar**. [/QUOTE] One you use for the subway, and, the other one you eat. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/42 "2007-01-12T00:07:54Z")
Tolkien was talking-no ‘e’, so ‘i’ must be first. “Kaiser” (Kaiser Permanente) comes from “Caesar” and has no ‘e’, so it must be ‘ae’. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/43 "2007-01-12T00:16:44Z")
Which points out our woeful lack of a “Huh? Wha?” smilie. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/44 "2007-01-12T00:46:50Z")
[QUOTE=Nature’s Call] No, it’s badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger badger (mushroom, mushroom) [/QUOTE] Oh it’s not. It’s llama llama duck 😃 (Or perhaps lhlhama lhlhama dhuck) You gotta know the llama song ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/45 "2007-01-12T00:52:24Z")
I blame ghey marriage. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_sky\_dreamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@blue\_sky\_dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_sky_dreamer)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/46 "2007-01-12T01:04:43Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Carrot] Since Gandhi’s name was originally not written using the Roman alphabet, there are different ways to transliterate it. [/QUOTE] Er… not in this case. The ‘dh’ combo in Hindi has a particular pronunciation that is not the same as plain ‘d’, so you can’t put the ‘h’ wherever you please. Check out the Plosive Consonant chart [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindi#Consonants). Now, if you want to be sorry that you spelled out sari instead of saree, that’s your business. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/47 "2007-01-12T01:38:00Z")
**ArchiveGuy** , meet [**Tracy Lord**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293806) and [II Gyan II](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159869). Apparently this gets pitted every couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/48 "2007-01-12T01:38:51Z")
> [@MaxtheVool](#): > > I’m a very literate college graduate, and I can never for the life of me remember whether it’s Tolkien or Tolkein; or Caesar or Ceasar. > [@me](#): > > Tolkien was talking-no ‘e’, so ‘i’ must be first. “Kaiser” (Kaiser Permanente) comes from “Caesar” and has no ‘e’, so it must be ‘ae’. > [@elucidator](#): > > Which points out our woeful lack of a “Huh? Wha?” smilie. I figured that since the post directly afterwards dealt with what **Max** said, I didn’t need to quote him. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/49 "2007-01-12T01:45:29Z")
Just remember that Dharma and Greg discussed Gandhi and Buddha – people don’t seem to have a problem with _her_ name. (The only thing Buddah is, is a record company which couldn’t spell either.) Would I be hijacking the thread to my own recent rant if I said that Ghandi and Bhudda are as mythical as Santa Clause? ;)) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/50 "2007-01-12T01:49:12Z")
Oh, I got that part ok. Is it intended to be some sort of memnon…nemonic… whatever device to assist memorization? Like “All good boys deserve favor”? ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/51 "2007-01-12T02:11:55Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Oh, I got that part ok. Is it intended to be some sort of memnon…nemonic… whatever device to assist memorization? Like “All good boys deserve favor”? [/QUOTE] EVERY good boy deserves favor. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/52 "2007-01-12T02:37:17Z")
Oh, I remember that song… “Gandhi…I call my sugar ‘Gandhi’…” Giraffe, your uh…punishment is sexist. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/53 "2007-01-12T02:39:20Z")
[QUOTE=Priceguy] Yep. I freak out slightly whenever someone claims there’s a “correct” way to transliterate a word. Transliteration is an art, not a science. [/QUOTE] Except that there’s usually a standard transliteration as devised by native speakers. Their standard (one example of which I’d bet is Gandhi) deserves respect. “Transliteration” does not equal “free for all.” ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/54 "2007-01-12T02:47:11Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Next thing, there will be some poor soul rantimg about the spellings of Buddha and Buddhist. (And don’t even get the Detroiters started on the spelling of Lahser Rd.) [/QUOTE] OK, well it’s clearly spelled Lahser and so should be pronounced Lah-sir - NOT Lasher. Now, Schoenherr Rd is pronounced Shay-ner, which never made any sense to me. No wonder they just started numbering the damn roads after awhile! (There’s 5 Mile all the way up to 23 Mile Rd. Wanna guess how many miles apart they are?) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/55 "2007-01-12T02:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] However, he was entirely adept at English, schooled in English law. My understanding is that the transliteration as commonly given was his preference. [/QUOTE] I hear he’d go ape-shit crazy on your ass if you got it wrong, too. Fucker was in_sane_. 'specially after he got a coupla forties in him. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/56 "2007-01-12T02:56:12Z")
If I promise to spell it correctly, can I ask a question? I’m reading A Suitable Boy and I have silly questions to ask, but am not sure of the cultural sensitivity of the questions. My husband works with two Indian guy and he’s asked them a few questions for me, but I don’t know if I’m being given the “right” answer or the answer. So far, I’ve had questions about the caste system and of eve-teasing. I’m sure I’ll have more. Anyone want to be my guinea pig or go-to “general cultural questions about India” I’ll send up a prayer to Gandhi! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/57 "2007-01-12T02:56:30Z")
[QUOTE=Nawth Chucka] OK, well it’s clearly spelled Lahser and so should be pronounced Lah-sir - NOT Lasher. Now, Schoenherr Rd is pronounced Shay-ner, which never made any sense to me. [/QUOTE] Actually, most of the folks with whom I associate call it LAH Shrr, (not that that is any more logical). I suppose we could look up the guy it’s named for some day. Shay- ner, however, is a not too horrible American pronunciation of the actual German, _Schoenherr_, (dear lord or sweet lord in German) and is actually the pronunciation used by the original Schoenherr family and their descendants. If you want a road that really twists up newcomers, you need to look at Dequindre. (Pronouncing the qu as k instead of kw used to be the hallmark of a real live Southeast Michigander forty years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/58 "2007-01-12T02:57:15Z")
fwiw, ending the sentence with Gandi! made me realize how friendly it makes his name look. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/59 "2007-01-12T03:04:17Z")
Oh! I think I saw that movie! Gandhi with the Windhi! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607/60 "2007-01-12T03:04:28Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Actually, most of the folks with whom I associate call it LAH Shrr, (not that that is any more logical). I suppose we could look up the guy it’s named for some day. Shay- ner, however, is a not too horrible American pronunciation of the actual German, _Schoenherr_, (dear lord or sweet lord in German) and is actually the pronunciation used by the original Schoenherr family and their descendants. If you want a road that really twists up newcomers, you need to look at Dequindre. (Pronouncing the qu as k instead of kw used to be the hallmark of a real live Southeast Michigander forty years ago.) [/QUOTE] I always said it w/ the kw, but then my mom was born & raised in KY. I liked to hear new radio people try Cadieux. I once heard Martha Quinn pronounce Livonia as Ly-vo-nee-uh on a call-in show. Ya know, we just don’t get enough Detroit-area tangents on this board! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi-gandhi/387607.md?page=4)